Ura
by GlowingPatchwork
Summary: A few Zia x Zulf (can be interpreted as friendly or otherwise,) drabbles that I thought were kind of sweet. Sticks to the main plotline, through Zia's point of view, and it's just my take on their feelings about each other and what happened. Do give it a try! uwu
1. Bonding

The two Ura in the group never… well, took a while to bond.

Zulf welcomed the girl with his arms spread wide, his eyes glowing like stars and his pale face softened into an expression of warmth, gratitude. He murmured a small prayer of thanks to his Gods as he swept her into a relieved embrace, inhaling the scent of one of his kind. That same smell he never thought he'd catch a whiff of again.

But hell, that was just the meeting.

He was nice to her after, sure he was. Always nodding graciously at her as they crossed paths, delivering his thanks with a polite little grin as she served him one of her fine meals, and always ready to help her if she got herself into trouble. There were many instances in which the clumsy girl had let her knife slip from her grasp, probably lost in a tune somewhere far away, and he'd have to tie some little cloth around the wound. The scratchy fabric irked her a little; this, he had noticed, and he would provide something better if he could. But back to the point. He was always willing to offer a helping hand, but more out of chivalry than concern.

It was pretty much the same on her end. No, actually, she wasn't quite as open with Zulf as he was with her. Sure, she felt bad that she couldn't return his polite agreeableness, but she had her reasons. Every time she looked up into his soft eyes, her mind flashed back to the one who deceived her. Without her really realizing it she found herself instinctively drawing back. In the beginning, she'd even glared at him, but as soon as she saw a flash of hurt cross his pretty features she'd softened her gaze. Zia was just cautious. Everyone was, after being hurt.

Course, Zulf had suffered his fair share of hardships too. He saw his pretty lover reflected in Zia's timid dark eyes, even if the colour didn't match. It was the face of the shape, the little gestures, and just about anything else that… well, added up. A little fiddling with her hair sent him way back. And he felt kind of bad about it, really. He was taking out all his regret and sorrow on her, in a roundabout way, by almost holding her as the same woman he once held dear. Course, he never examined it quite as closely as this, yet the niggling guilt ate away at him.

But still, they stuck together. They were of the same race, after all; and the Ura are known for staying loyal to one another. Sometimes they'd have quiet conversations in their own languages, or a little later on in his company Zia would bring out her little harp guitar and pluck away at it a little. When they sang together, they made the most beautiful harmonies, no matter which language they were speaking. And it was… well, it was nice. Over time, Zia did learn to trust him.

She felt like she was getting somewhere in her life. She felt as though, by bonding with Zulf (however weak the bonds were,) she could move on from the guy who hurt her, and possibly even lift a little of the weight of the blame for her father's death that she'd placed upon herself. Zulf had noticed it, too, how she'd smile at him more often, and even move a little closer in some sort of cute, shy way of saying she was comfortable. It made him smile; really, it did. Made him proud.

But all of that crumbled just as quickly as it had come when he got the journal.


	2. Outcome

**A/N: The only reason I really decided to upload this chapter was because a Guest (y'all know who you are, you cutie c;) left the most lovely review and I just haaaaaaaaah, I'm a sucker for compliments! So yeah, this goes out to you, you lovely person uwu**

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Saw her struggling to read it one day, perched on her own with her feet dangling over the edge of the land, and plopped himself down right beside her. Took it from her grasp with gentle movements, and flipped back to the start before reciting the words in a smooth, elegant tone. It was so rhythmic and sweet that she found herself slowly relaxing, and timidly leaning her head against his shoulder, smiling to herself as some sort of mix of her father and Zulf's sweet voice blended together with each word. He looked over at her curiously at first, barely tilting his head so as not to frighten the deer-like creature, but his pale lips twitched up into a similar grin when he saw her eyes shut.

Zulf didn't feel quite as peaceful as he continued reading, though. She felt his shoulders begin to tense suddenly as his voice cut short, and his arms tremble like they were going to lash out. She drew back, tempted to scramble to her feet and back away from the seemingly violent man. They sat like that, in tense silence for a little while as he flipped each page with wild motions.

He snapped it shut. A burning, positively murderous glare clashed with a dark-eyed fear, swirling and mixing to create an atmosphere so thick that you felt it with every breath. He slowly rose to his feet, terrifyingly composed and calm about the situation as he hurled it towards her, damn near knocking her off the Bastion as she barely managed to grab it. She stood, too; leaping to her feet with the book pressed tight against her quivering chest and thumping heart.

"Zulf…" She trailed off, not breaking away from his gaze. Spellbound in the worst way. "Why'd you stop…?"

"I… I read ahead." He began, trying desperately to keep his voice under control, for Zia's sake. For the sake of the comfort they'd both found in each other. "Too far. Please, Zia, don't ask me anymore."

"But…" Now, Zia was being a little naïve here; that much can be safely said. She didn't heed his warning despite the tone in his voice. Curiosity won her over, probably. "What did it say…?"

"I told you not to ask me anymore!" He yelled, his voice fierce and dangerous. She flinched away from him, casting her eyes down as she listened to the tone she hadn't heard since… well, her father yelled at that boy. "Goddamnit," He spat, something very rare for him to say, but with the flurry of betrayal and hurt flooding his soul, he didn't have time to notice.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we can fix this." She whimpered, stepping towards him and daring to lay a hand on his arm as some sort of weak comfort. "What's upsetting you…?"

He slapped the hand away, his anger now fully unleashed. He slapped her, too; hard across her left cheek and sending her tumbling to the ground.


	3. Rarely as Simple

Up until this point, Rucks figured that the two were just bickering a little; something they'd get over, but as soon as he heard the thud of Zia hitting the ground it sent him into motion.

"Now what the hell do you think you're doing?" His voice was low, gruff, threatening. He was a fighter too, once. Still, ever the gentleman, he turned to Zia quickly and placed a gentle hand upon her upper back and hand to help her to her feet. She nodded in thanks before scuttling away a few steps.

"I… I…" Zulf faltered, for a second halting his furiosity as confusion overpowered it. But just as soon as it had gone, it was back. "I never expected any less of you Caelondians, really."

"What are you referring to?" Rucks' tone raised in pitch a little; he was equally as confused, expect his stayed.

"You've read this, right, Rucks? Why, you were even part of the reason it was written. Yeah, I've read all about you." He snarled, his voice laced with hateful venom.

Rucks' eyes widened, and Zulf gave a slow, self-confirming nod.

The rest was what could be called 'history;' just a blur of yells and poisonous hisses and desperate apologies, until Zulf turned to the monument and began savagely tearing it apart. Rucks grabbed his arm in a fruitless attempt to stop him, and it wasn't until his grip was painfully tight that Zulf slapped him away, just as he had with Zia.

Zia herself ran to the man's aid, offering a helping hand similar to the one he'd provided but a few minutes ago. He tossed her a grateful nod but stayed cowered beneath Zulf's murderous, disdainful look. He glared at him as if he were scum. Rucks could agree with him on that one. Zia just looked on in horror as he turned to leave the Bastion, for what she assumed was the last time.

They'd gone back to square one, just as she thought she could relax around him. A man like that is rarely as simple, she recalled Rucks trying to reassure her. She'd collapsed to her knees, freely letting herself sob though it wasn't like her to get so openly emotional. He'd put her hand on her shoulder and she'd leaned against his leg, weeping and wailing into the coarse layers, as if her heart was breaking. She supposed it probably was.

She'd neglected going because of this; her fear and brokenness and loathing and 'men like that are rarely as simple' all managed to contort in a flurry of agony, and eventual reluctance. He'd hurt her, she figured. Just like that boy had.

But eventually, she was forced anyway. The Ura, her kinsmen, her kind, came in armies of pure stealth and despising, slashing away at both their land and family. Her little pecker, collapsed on his side. Her little squirt would squeal with joy no more, his eyes forever frozen in wide, innocent terror. She wept for them as she had for Zulf; loudly and freely as she felt merciless hands hoist her up and drag her away from the corpses, grunting apathetically as her heaviness. Her dress was being torn and her arms were beginning to ache but it didn't matter at all, because she couldn't take her eyes off them no matter how hard she wanted to. She didn't want to see this. She didn't want to hurt anything else. As she was ejected into the skyway, she caught Rucks casting her one last horrified glance as someone bore down on him and she let out **one last** scream.


	4. Gone

They'd taken her to him with snarls and jeers at her state of dress, as well as spat insults at 'how damned fat she must be, being so heavy.' Not all Ura were as kind as Zulf, and they certainly hated her. He looked upon her then, with slight sympathy but an overpowering sense of loathing at what he considered her betrayal.

"Go." He ordered his clan, and they swiftly departed with the upmost level of obedience. Zia let herself cast a glance down to her tattered skirts, revealing a badly cut portion of her mid-thigh. She almost felt a little bashful about it, but would not let herself be so childish before such a disgusting man.

She met his gaze with her own, levelled one; daring him to speak against her as she raised her soft voice.

"Pecker's gone." She spat, refusing to break the stare. "Squirt's gone." At this point she began to stride slowly towards him, feeling her resolve break with every step. "I saw Rucks get hit." He offered a spiteful snort at that, and she damn near killed him then and there. She'd never felt so much hate for one man. "I bet the Kid's gone by now, too." She broke off, her voice quivering. "And all because of you. All… because of…" She whimpered, choked up despite herself. He threw himself at her, then, sweeping her into an embrace that matched, if not beat the first they'd shared.

"Zia…" he whimpered back, letting the first tears fall into her neat chocolate locks. "You want to know what happened to your people, right? I have the truth. Please, just listen to it. You'll understand."

For a moment, she faltered. She was tempted to say 'no,' as no truth could make up for the losses she'd witnessed hours before. Fresh wounds bled an aching sorrow in her heart, and her thigh was still dripping crimson. If knowing the truth could make her do something that awful, she almost feared it.

"It was Caelondia." He murmured, continuing when she gave him no response. "I swear to you, it was. They were planning it for years against us; wanted to crash the Tazal Terminals and… and crush everyone inside. After we'd agreed to keep peace between our men, they were wanting us gone from the start. And look how it's backfired," he slowly spread his arms, gesturing to the shattered beauty of the Tazal Terminals.

Zia looked upon it in more wonder than she did sorrow. She was raised in Caelondia with her father, and had never even been before, so the sights fascinated her, yet she held no attachment to them. It was a towering, however fragmented structure of glacial beauty, that swirled high in shades of mellow lavender and the sweetest hue of icy blue. Kind of like someone had shined the colours beneath a block of ice, which she guessed they may well have done. But it wasn't quite cold.

"This was my home, Zia." Zulf continued upon realizing she wasn't listening anymore, turning to glance around at it as she had. All he felt was hatred, though; at Caelondia for doing this, for achieving their goal. Rucks was to blame, too. "Used to spend all my time trying to find peace. And all for naught…" He crumbled, then, putting his head in his hands and shaking it. He sounded so broken, so grievous as he echoed, "All for naught…"

Zia surveyed the shattered soul before her in deep thought, feeling her hatred lessen a little as she looked around it once more. It was a mess, that much was certain, and to see your home in such a state… to know who caused it… she felt herself finally understanding his anger, just a little.

"But, Zulf," She turned to him, her mellow voice gentle yet warning, "That's what the Bastion is for. That's Rucks' way of apologizing for what he's done; rebuilding a society that anyone can live on until we sort this hell out. Please," She shook her head, "Come back."

"I will crush the Bastion!" He snarled, his voice raised in fury. "That man is so desperate to be forgiven for what he's done. He doesn't care about us, Zia, please believe that. He's looking for some damned way to cure his guilty conscience. And using an unaware Kid…" He broke off, unable to continue as pure disgust silenced him. "Using you…"

Zia was silent, unsure of how to respond. This man was so angry, so malicious, so driven by revenge that any attempts for retribution were blinded by it. The little musician did what she used to do for her father, what she used to do for the boy, and just about anyone else when they weren't seeing sense. Once again, she stepped into his arms, pressing her cheek against his chest and linking her hands behind his back. She pressed him towards her, desperate for him to just… see something. Anything.

And yet, he writhed, then shoved her away again. She drew back with a hoarse whimper, hastily stumbling to back away in case he hurt her again. Guilt flashed across his features at her motions; truly, he never meant to hurt her…

But she would not listen to him. Yes, their friendship was gone, now.


End file.
